Something that’s been driving me absolutely crazy lately is walking by a parked car or truck with the engine idling.
Maybe it’s been at the front of my mind because Jasmin of The Worsted Witch mentioned her annoyance at the same thing recently.
Seriously, every time I walk past a parked, idling car with someone sitting in the driver’s seat I have to resist the urge to tap the window and yell at them to turn the engine off.
I’d like to hope that the reason people still do this is because they don’t know any better and not because they don’t care. If they knew how much of their own gas and money they were wasting, not to mention the environmental impact and the fact that excessive idling actually hurts your car’s engine, maybe more people would make an effort not to idle.
I try to believe the best in people and hope that the solution to this problem is reducing the widespread ignorance regarding idling and its harmful effects. If you want to learn more (or help spread the word!), Natural Resources Canada is full of great info, plus they have some great free, ready to use images for printing out your own posters and stickers to raise awareness.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I live right near an elementary school, and it’s crazy how many parents pull up and don’t turn off their cars while they’re waiting for their kids to get out of class. I waited in the car the other day while my sweetie went into the bank, and after a minute, I realized I was doing it, too. I had to reach over and turn the ignition off because I felt like such a hypocrite. (And because it was the right thing to do, of course.)
I’ve heard of some elementary schools that have “No Idle” zones, which I think is a great idea. It’s probably easiest to get something like that started through the PTA or as a parent, but maybe as a concerned resident nearby you could start a campaign to get the parents informed?
It seems like parents especially would only want to do what’s in the best interest of their kids, so I think educating them about the negative effects of idling is really the first step.
I actually heard of a school where a class did a project to learn about how much pollution was created by the idling cars, and then the kids worked to get the parents to shut off the cars while waiting for them after school. I just think that’s so cool.
Thanks for the shout-out! This really grinds my gears, too!